Meta

Guide: Pairing with W1 Enabled Headphones

Apple this year removed the headphone Jack from the iPhone 7 which demanded a change in wireless technologies for bluetooth users. To help in this, Apple created the W1 Chip which currently is on the Beats headphones and will soon be on the Apple AirPods. One advantage is that W1 enabled headphones will pair with all of your Apple devices using iCloud. In this Guide we will look at the ways you can quickly pair these headphones with all of your devices.

Initial Pairing

To pair your W1 enabled device with an iPhone for first time use is simple. Just have the devices on and near your each other. The iPhone will prompt you to unlock the device with touch ID and then tap a button on the screen to pair it with the headphones. I did this process on my iPhone 7 Plus but it will work the same on any other iPhone or iPad.

Connecting to W1 device with iOS

If you have connected to your device from your watch, Mac, or with any other iOS device then you will need to tell your current device to reconnect to the bluetooth device with the W1 chip. Here is how this works.

From your home screen open Settings.

Find Bluetooth on the main settings screen.

Tap on your headset and it should connect.

Connecting with Apple Watch

As we discussed previously, the W1 enabled devices will pair to all of your Apple devices, and this includes the Apple Watch. This is an easy way to connect an audio device that lets an Apple Watch user privately use VoiceOver. Here is how to connect your headset to Apple Watch.

Slide up from the bottom of the screen with one finger, or swipe up with two fingers if you are running VoiceOver. You will need to be at your watch face to do this. If done correctly, you will have brought up Control Center.

Find the AirPlay icon and tap or double tap on it.

When asked, tap or double tap on the name of your headset. This will connect your headset to your watch and all sound from your watch will go through the headset.

Connecting with the Mac

Connecting to a W1 headset on the Mac allows you to use the headset on your Mac for all sound output. Here is how you connect the two.

Find your Menu extras in the top right of the screen or by using VO+M+M

Find the option for Bluetooth and expand the menu.

Find your headset and bring up the sub-menu

Select Connect to connect your headset to your computer.

Conclusion

Apple has really improved the use of Bluetooth technologies with this new W1 chip, which they plan to use in their upcoming AirPods. The addition of the W1 chip allows for users to easily pair and connect to all of their devices without a long process of pairing and impairing devices.